Is the second season of “Street Dance Girls Fighter” just going to be a softer remake of the previous “Street Woman Fighter,” the famed Mnet dance competition franchise? The answer is a hard "no" from the judges and participants.

“I was shocked at how good they were, especially the girls who participated without being a part of a crew,” Gabee, the leader of dance crew Lachica and a member of the judging panel, told reporters in a press conference held Tuesday at the Standford Hotel in Mapo District, western Seoul.

“I strongly believe that people will ask whether they are actually teens because they're so good.”

A follow-up to the recently-wrapped-up all-female dance competition franchise "Street Woman Fighter" on cable channel Mnet, "Street Dance Girls Fighter 2" is set to air its first episode tonight at 10 p.m., two years after finishing the first season in January 2022.

The competitors of "Street Dance Girls Fighter" are "girls" indeed, as only teenagers can enter this battlefield. For this season, the program expanded its age limits to those born between 2005 and 2010, opening entries worldwide and allowing individual dancers who are not part of a crew to also enter, contrary to its previous season.

“There was no reason not to globalize the program,” producer Hwang Sung-ho said.

"We believe that dancing is the most universal and coolest form of communication, transcending language barriers. K-pop is also gaining popularity overseas, and we wondered what would happen if these international dancers were to meet with Korean dancers."

The first season of the show proved to be one of the most popular programs of the year, getting a 3.9 percent viewership rating at its highest during its run from November 2021 to January 2022. It even surpassed the viewership rating for the first season of "Street Woman Fighter."

The show is once again hosted by singer Kang Daniel, who has hosted the whole street dance franchise.

As "masters," as the judges are called, dance crews from both seasons of “Street Woman Fighter” will partake in teaching, mentoring and evaluating the girls. Crews 1Million, Bebe, Jam Republic and Mannequeen from Season 2 and Hook and Lachica from Season 1 will be taking part.

A competitive program though it may be, the focus is more on the growing part rather than the competition, which makes it different from "Street Woman Fighter," according to the cast.

“All I want to do is just let them pick my brain and share it [knowledge] to them,” Kirsten Dodgen, the leader of dance crew Jam Republic, said.

“I feel the pressure to help develop the contestants [as a mentor],” Lia Kim, who leads dance crew 1Million, said. “I’m going to scrape up all that I have and share it with the girls.”

“We hope that our program provides a starting point for the girls to grow up as professional dancers,” producer Jung Kyoung-wook said.

“Street Dance Girls Fighter 2” will air every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Mnet and can be streamed on streaming platform Tving.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]